WKMG: Urban Meyer told Gators he had heart attack

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"Ping"

WKMG-Local 6 sports anchor David “Ping” Pingalore said Monday evening he stands behind his Saturday report that Florida Gators Coach Urban Meyer had a heart attack during mid-season — one health reason that may have led to the coach’s decision to take an indefinite leave of absence from the team.

During WKMG’s “The 6 O’Clock News,” Pingalore reported live via phone from New Orleans, where the Gators are set to play Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl. He elaborated on his Saturday report, saying Meyer himself told the Gators players he had a heart attack.

“On Saturday night I did report from a source that head coach Urban Meyer did tell the team sometime on Saturday that in mid-season he suffered a heart attack, and that source continues to stand by that story. We stand by that story,” Pingalore said. “Coach Meyer on Sunday denied any kind of rumor or fact or whatever it is that he suffered a heart attack. He said he did not suffer a heart attack. But our source inside that team meeting did say that Coach Meyer did tell the team he did suffer a heart attack. And Meyer, he kind of walked around a lot of those questions that were asked of him about his health [during Sunday's news conference.]”

“Ping” has been right with other Gators scoops, so that’s why this claim is being taken seriously by many despite UF’s denials.

Also one other interesting note about the Urban Meyer saga: WOFL-Fox 35 — which got rid of its full-time sports anchors and segments awhile ago — is running promos touting that it was the only station in town to carry Meyer’s Sunday afternoon news conference.

WFTV preparing for Bob Opsahl’s retirement

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Bob Opsahl

Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather were iconic anchors for their networks. But Bob Opsahl has them beat.

Opsahl has been anchoring the news at WFTV-Channel 9 for more than 30 years — even before Rather, Brokaw or Jennings took over the lead roles on their network newscasts. Granted, Opsahl wasn’t the main anchor for Eyewitness News when he started at the station in 1978, but he’s still going long after those other guys left their respective network desks.

But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker reports that WFTV is starting to look for Opsahl’s replacement.

“Bob Opsahl is going to retire sometime. It would behoove us to be ready,” said WFTV News Director Bob Jordan – the man who hired Opsahl years ago. “I know one day I’m going to have to replace Bob Opsahl. I’ve be happy if he stayed forever, but he has a contract that runs out. He’s had a fantastic career. He’s an extremely valuable player.”

For now, the station is holding auditions for a male weekend anchor — but folks can see the writing on the wall. Fortunately for Opsahl’s many viewers, he’s probably not going anywhere anytime soon.

“Not next year,” Jordan said. “As long as he’s going to be here for 2010, aren’t goodbyes premature?”

A new look for Central Florida News 13

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Last week, Central Florida News 13 introduced updated graphics and music. Have to say, they both are a big improvement — and the biggest changes the 24-hour cable channel has made to its on-air appearance since starting in 1997.

The graphics are bold, but the colors are softer. The familiar jingles for “Weather on the 1′s” and other features have been updated too. Even the set has been tweaked a bit, with a softer, lighter blue background.

You can see some examples below. (Note, these were taken from the CFNews13 Web site, so the “13″ bug is missing from the lower right corner)

13new-2

13new-4

13new-1

13new-5

WESH pioneer Nick Pfeifauf dies

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Nick Pfeifauf (left) anchoring at WESH

Nick Pfeifauf (left) anchoring at WESH

Former WESH 2 pioneer Nick Pfeifauf, 77, died last week after having a heart attack. Pfeifauf was the anchor for WESH news when I first started watching Central Florida television back in the 1970s.

 

According to WESH.com, Pfeifauf worked as news anchor, news director and vice president of research and development at Channel 2 from the 1960s until 1990. His wife, Eloise, said Pfeifauf started as a cameraman.
 
 ”About two months later, someone could not go on the air and since Nick had a shirt and tie on, he was asked to deliver the news,” she said. “With his 10 years in radio, he was able to pull it off, and from then on he was on the air. ”
 
I believe he was the first anchor of “NewsCenter 2″ when WESH first tried to emulate the Star Trek-like set (not the one in the picture) that was pioneered by WNBC, and I believe he was succeeded by Wayne Bennett. More on Pfeifauf here from the Orlando Sentinel.

Casey Anthony: WESH analyst blasts WFTV analyst

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tvnotesAs if the long, strange saga of infamous “tot mom” Casey Anthony could not get any stranger … it does, of course. This time it involves attorneys Orlando TV stations are using as legal experts to help analyze the case.

It started Thursday, when Anthony’s defense attorneys filed motions that meter reader Roy Kronk — who discovered Caylee Anthony’s body — should be considered a suspect in the death of the toddler. WFTV-Channel 9 legal analyst Bill Sheaffer criticized the move, calling it “an all-time low on a grand scale.” But Richard Hornsby — who is providing analysis to WESH-2 as well as other local stations – disagreed saying it was a “significant and credible” defense and “has a high likelihood of success.”

But Hornsby didn’t stop there in his analysis. He decided to analyze the analysis of WFTV’s Sheaffer.

Hornsby wrote on his blog, “I was flabbergasted when WFTV-ABC ‘legal analyst’ William ‘Bill’ Sheaffer said: I deem these tactics as despicable’ and then ‘blasted’ Mr. Baez on his blog (Does Casey’s Defense Have No Sense Of Decency?), local news, and web video footage for WFTV-ABC. … The very conviction with which Mr. Sheaffer blasts the Anthony Defense on the Motion makes me question when he last opened up one of those law books he is always sitting in front of.”

Hornsby also criticized WFTV reporter Kathi Belich. He wrote, “I think it is time that someone puts WFTV-ABC reporter Kathi Belich and her sidekick Mr. Sheaffer to task for their Pro-Prosecution pandering to the anti-Anthony sentiment, rather than providing objective analysis of the legal issues in the case so that the Central Florida community can have an informed understanding of the legal issues in this case.”

You can’t make this stuff up, folks.

Click here to read Hornsby’s blog, click here to read Sheaffer’s blog and click here to read Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedker’s take on this.

Bob Frier returns to air December 14 on Fox 35

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bobfrier-woflSome quick updates …

Former WKMG-Local 6 anchor Bob Frier, who recently signed with WOFL-Fox 35, will make his debut on his new station Dec. 14, according to station promos. Still no word on how the anchor duties at Fox 35 are going to be shuffled with Frier’s arrival. But it’s great that he will be back on TV — and may make the difference in pushing Fox 35 permanently ahead of WKMG in the early evening time slots where they square off. …

Holiday cheer, courtesy of Central Florida’s News Leader: When the City of Orlando said it would not have a Christmas tree this year due to budget cuts, WFTV-Channel 9 repsonded. According to the Orlando Sentinel, “A 31-foot blue spruce was donated by Warren Brown and Co., a tree farm, and the $6,800 cost of transporting it from North Carolina and installing it is being paid by AirTran Airways and WFTV.” Channel 9 is also a sponsor of the holiday Light Up UCF event. …

What will WFTV do when Oprah Winfrey ends her talk show in 2011? It’s probably too early to tell, but according to Broadcasting & Cable, most ABC O&O’s which air Oprah already know what they’re doing – more news. “According to many sources, executives at the ABC stations that serve as Oprah’s key station group have long said they will fill the time slots by expanding their local news. The ABC stations remain strong–even in today’s tough environment–and are news leaders,” B&C reported So, don’t be surprised to see WFTV’s Eyewitness News starting at 4 p.m. come September 2011. That’s still a long way off, and lots of things could happen, but that’s my bet. …

They’re hearing wedding bells over at WKMG. Local 6 evening anchor Mike Garofalo got hitched, and morning anchor Laura Diaz got engaged. Orlando Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker reports that Garofalo married Sasha Andrade, a reporter at Post-Newsweek sister station WPLG-Local 10 in Miami. Boedeker says Diaz got engaged a month ago “to a WKMG colleague she identifies only as Mike.” Diaz told Boedeker,  ”He’s in sales. He’s in the other world, what we call the dark side.”